Bandhavgarh - A revisit

Wild Life trips

Male Cub of Dotty

Having been to Bandhavgarh in November last and come away with facinating memories, as a family we were eager to be back at the first opportunity. My daughter having graduated from high school was busy preparing for her College admissions. Being in regular touch with Kesava Murthy helps get a heads up on trip (I'd like to think....earlier than others... ;) helped make the plan much earlier despite the uncertainities around the College counselling dates. Like they say all is well that ends well and the admission process was completed exactly on the day that we were to travel.

Once the admission at one of the leading colleges in Bangalore was done, it was time to let our hair down. Since the trip plan included my parents, we decided to travel by train, which would give us some quality time with each other. There being a direct train to Jabalpur from Chennai, we took the overnight train to Chennai and met up with the parents. We all boarded the weekly train from Chennai Egmore to Gaya and settled in for a 27 hour journey to Jabalpur, where we were picked up by cab to Tala and our home for the next 4 days - Tiger Trails Resort.

Blue Bearded Bee Eater

Having reached the resort fairly early in the day, we found the place to quiet, since folks on safari rides were yet to return while the ones leaving had already checked out. Quiet of the place meant that quite a few birds were out. Check out some of the birds here.....

Hooded Oriole

Indian Nuthatch

Indian Grey Hornbill

Oriental Whiteeye

Plum Headed Parakeet

White Browed Fantail

Yellow Fronted Leafbird

Rest of the day was spent lazing around the resort and it was an early night to bed, after the rigours of the travel and the need for an early start next morning for our first foray into the Jungle. All our Safari trips were booked for either Tala or Magadhi zone and we started the day with Tala.

Siddh Baba Juvenile

Almost immediately into the Safari we got a glimpse of one of the Siddh Baba Cubs. The heat of the day meant that the Tigers were well into the sheltered areas in the underbrush and hard to sight. But this was a significant sighting since this happened to be the first time my parents ever saw a tiger in the wild.  This trip was different from the previous one in the sense that we were to see juveniles while the adults were rarely seen if ever.

Driving ahead, we were lucky to get a glimpse of a Sloth Bear, who had come out of the forest looking for water. Unfortunately the visitors in the vehicle ahead screamed in excitement, which set the bear off running for cover. So much for the oft repeated warnings by drivers and guides to keep silent....

Sloth Bear

Indian/ Long Billed Vulture

White Backed Vulture

Soon after, we were greeted by the sights of Vultures coming off the Bandhavgarh cliffs for their early morning drink of water. A mix of Long Billed Vultures, White Backed Vultures. It was good to see these birds who have been poisoned to the very brink of extinction and are only now reaching a somewhat stable state maintaining their population.



The other notable sightings during the various safaris were Bamerason sitting on a kill made by one of his cubs from the tigess Solo.

Indian Pitta

Tigress Solo

Bamera Son sitting at the Kill made by one of his cubs

One of Dotty's Cubs

Dotty Juvenile

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Lapwing Harassing a Crested Serpent Eagle trying to get a drink

The Deadly Stare - Jungle Owlet

Sambar Scape

My first ever Nightjar - Savannah Nightjar

Another First... Stork Billed Kingfisher

Sheshshaiyya - Lord Vishnu reclining on Sheshnag

The Stare....

I'd recommend that you look up https://birdwing.in/ and get in touch with Kesava or Santosh if you are looking for a trip that combines thrilling experiences that wildlife encounters bring, combined with a healthy dose of photography inputs.